Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984)
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
The Toronto Blizzard were a professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL).
History
The Toronto Metros joined the NASL in 1971.[1] Their home field was Varsity Stadium.
In 1975, 50% of the team was purchased for $250,000 by the Toronto Croatia of the National Soccer League (NSL), and the team became the Toronto Metros-Croatia.[2] The club won the 1976 Soccer Bowl championship. However, they continued to struggle at the gate. In mid September 1976, it was reported that team owed $100,000 to the Ontario government and $95,000 to the metropolitan Toronto government, that several star players were free agents and the team might fold.[3]
The Global Television Network purchased 85% of the struggling Toronto Metros-Croatia on February 1, 1979, for $2.6 million.[4][5][6] Following the purchase, Toronto Croatia returned to the NSL as a separate club. With only 7 of the 26 players from the 1978 roster staying, the NASL team was renamed the Toronto Blizzard following the takeover. Under the new ownership, attendances nearly doubled.[6] From 1979 to 1983 the Blizzard played home games at Exhibition Stadium before returning to Varsity Stadium for the 1984 NASL season.[7][8]
The Blizzard were members of the NASL until 1984, the last year of league operations. The team were runners-up for the league championship in 1983, losing the Soccer Bowl to the Tulsa Roughnecks 2–0 in front of nearly sixty thousand people at Vancouver's BC Place Stadium. They were runners-up again in 1984 when they lost to the Chicago Sting two games to none in a best of three championship series. The club was coached in these final two years by Bobby Houghton, assisted by Dave Turner and featured Roberto Bettega, David Byrne, Cliff Calvert, Pasquale De Luca, Charlie Falzon, Sven Habermann, Paul Hammond, Paul James, Conny Karlsson, Victor Kodelja, Trevor McCallum, Colin Miller, Jan Möller, Jimmy Nicholl, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Randy Ragan, Neill Roberts, John Paskin, Derek Spalding, and Bruce Wilson in its lineup.
The Blizzard qualified for the play-offs on only two other occasions, in 1979 and 1982, losing in the first round each time. Prominent players during the first four years included Clyde Best, Željko Bilecki, Jimmy Bone, Roberto Bettega, Drew Busby, David Byrne, Cliff Calvert, Tony Chursky, David Fairclough, Colin Franks, George Gibbs, Jimmy Greenhoff, Steve Harris-Byrne, Graham Hatley, Victor Kodelja, Sam Lenarduzzi, Peter Lorimer, Ivan Lukačević, Drago Vabec, Mike McLenaghen, Willie McVie, Alan Merrick, Charlie Mitchell, Juan Carlos Molina, Jan Möller, Francesco Morini, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Bobby Prentice, Randy Ragan, Neill Roberts, Malcolm Robertson, Peter Roe, Jomo Sono, Gordon Sweetzer, Blagoje Tamindžić, Jose Velasquez, and Bruce Wilson.
The Metros-Croatia fielded a team in NASL's indoor league in 1975[9] and 1976,[10] as did the Blizzard from 1980 through 1982.[11]
In 2010, the 1976 Soccer Bowl winning team was inducted into the Canada Soccer Hall of Fame.
Year-by-year team record
| Year | League | W | L | T | Pts | Reg. season | Playoffs | Avg. attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As Toronto Metros | ||||||||
| 1971 | NASL | 5 | 10 | 9 | 89 | 3rd, Northern Division | did not qualify | 5,922[12] |
| 1972 | NASL | 4 | 6 | 4 | 53 | 4th, Northern Division | did not qualify | 7,173[12] |
| 1973 | NASL | 6 | 4 | 9 | 89 | 1st, Northern Division | Lost Semifinal (Philadelphia) | 5,961[12] |
| 1974 | NASL | 9 | 10 | 1 | 87 | 2nd, Northern Division | did not qualify | 3,458[12] |
| As Toronto Metros-Croatia | ||||||||
| 1975 | NASL | 13 | 9 | — | 114 | 2nd, Northern Division | Lost Quarterfinal (Tampa Bay) | 6,271[12] |
| 1976 | NASL | 15 | 9 | — | 123 | 2nd, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division | Won 1st Round (Rochester) Won Division Championship (Chicago) Won Conference Championship (Tampa Bay) Won Soccer Bowl '76 (Minnesota) |
6,079[12] |
| 1977 | NASL | 13 | 13 | — | 115 | 1st, Atlantic Conference, Northern Division | Lost Conference Semifinal (Rochester) | 7,336[12] |
| 1978 | NASL | 16 | 14 | — | 144 | 3rd, National Conference, Eastern Division | Lost 1st Round (Vancouver) | 6,233[12] |
| As Toronto Blizzard | ||||||||
| 1979 | NASL | 14 | 16 | — | 133 | 3rd, National Conference, Eastern Division | Lost Conference Quarterfinal (New York) | 11,821[12] |
| 1980 | NASL | 14 | 18 | — | 128 | 3rd, National Conference, Eastern Division | Won 1st Round (Los Angeles) Lost Quarterfinal (Chicago) |
15,040[12] |
| 1981 | NASL | 7 | 25 | — | 77 | 4th, Eastern Division | did not qualify | 7,287[12] |
| 1982 | NASL | 17 | 15 | — | 151 | 3rd, Eastern Division | Lost 1st Round (Seattle) | 8,152[12] |
| 1983 | NASL | 16 | 14 | — | 135 | 3rd, Eastern Division | Won 1st Round (Vancouver) Won Semifinals (Montreal) Lost Soccer Bowl '83 (Tulsa) |
11,630[12] |
| 1984 | NASL | 14 | 10 | — | 117 | 2nd, Eastern Division | Won Semifinals (San Diego) Lost Championship (Chicago) |
11,452[12] |
Indoor seasons
| Year | League | W | L | Pts | Regular season | Playoffs | Avg. attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | NASL indoor | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4th, Region 1 (in Dallas) | did not qualify | |
| 1976 | NASL indoor | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3rd, Midwest Regional (in Chicago) | did not qualify | |
| 1980/81 | NASL Indoor | 5 | 13 | — | 4th, Northern Division | did not qualify | 5,702 |
| 1981/82 | NASL Indoor | 8 | 10 | — | 2nd, American Conference, East Division | did not qualify | 5,142 |
Championships
- North American Soccer League, Soccer Bowl: 1976
- Divisions: 1973, 1977
- Conference: 1976
Ownership
- John Fisher (1971–74)
- Sam Paric (1975–78)
- Global Television Network (1979–81)
- Karsten von Werseb (1981–84)
Head coaches
- Template:Flagicon Graham Leggat (1971–72)
- Template:Flagicon Arthur Rodrigues (1972–74)
- Template:Flagicon Frank Pike (1975 indoor season only)
- Template:Flagicon Ivan Marković (1975–76)[13]
- Template:Flagicon Marijan Bilić[14] (1976) interim
- Template:Flagicon Domagoj Kapetanović (1976, 1978)
- Template:Flagicon Ivan Sangulin (1977)
- Template:Flagicon Keith Eddy (1979–81)
- Template:Flagicon Bob Houghton (1982–84)
Assistant coaches
- Template:Flagicon Dave Turner (1982–84)
Notable players
- Template:Flagicon Juan Carlos Molina
- Template:Flagicon Ivair Ferreira
- Template:Flagicon Clyde Best
- Template:Flagicon Nick Albanis
- Template:Flagicon Aldo D'Alfonso
- Template:Flagicon Željko Bilecki
- Template:Flagicon Brian Budd
- Template:Flagicon Tony Chursky
- Template:Flagicon Pasquale de Luca
- Template:Flagicon Charlie Falzon
- Template:Flagicon Tibor Gemeri
- Template:Flagicon Sven Habermann
- Template:Flagicon Graham Hately
- Template:Flagicon Robert Iarusci
- Template:Flagicon Patrick Harrington
- Template:Flagicon Paul James
- Template:Flagicon Victor Kodelja
- Template:Flagicon Sam Lenarduzzi
- Template:Flagicon Trevor McCallum
- Template:Flagicon Mike McLenaghen
- Template:Flagicon Dave McQueen
- Template:Flagicon Colin Miller
- Template:Flagicon Randy Ragan
- Template:Flagicon Peter Roe
- Template:Flagicon Gordon Sweetzer
- Template:Flagicon Gordon Wallace
- Template:Flagicon Bruce Wilson
- Template:Flagicon Renard Moxam
- Template:Flagicon Cliff Calvert
- Template:Flagicon David Fairclough
- Template:Flagicon Colin Franks[15]
- Template:Flagicon George Gibbs
- Template:Flagicon Jimmy Greenhoff
- Template:Flagicon Steve Harris-Byrne
- Template:Flagicon Jimmy Kelly
- Template:Flagicon Alec Lindsay
- Template:Flagicon Alan Merrick
- Template:Flagicon Dave Needham[16]
- Template:Flagicon Phil Parkes
- Template:Flagicon Brian Talbot
- Template:Flagicon Dick Howard
- Template:Flagicon Nikos Sevastopoulos
- Template:Flagicon Conleth Davey
- Template:Flagicon Dave Henderson
- Template:Flagicon Alessandro Abbondanza
- Template:Flagicon Roberto Bettega
- Template:Flagicon Francesco Morini
- Template:Flagicon Marino Perani
- Template:Flagicon Damian Ogunsuyi
- Template:Flagicon Jimmy Nicholl
- Template:Flagicon Jose Velasquez
- Template:Flagicon Juan Carlos Ramirez Gaston
- Template:Flagicon Eusébio
- Template:Flagicon Robert Godoka
- Template:Flagicon Jimmy Bone
- Template:Flagicon Drew Busby
- Template:Flagicon Alex Cropley[17]
- Template:Flagicon Duncan Davidson[18]
- Template:Flagicon Peter Lorimer
- Template:Flagicon Willie McVie
- Template:Flagicon Charlie Mitchell
- Template:Flagicon Bobby Prentice
- Template:Flagicon Malcolm Robertson
- Template:Flagicon Derek Spalding
- Template:Flagicon David Byrne
- Template:Flagicon Ace Ntsoelengoe
- Template:Flagicon John Paskin
- Template:Flagicon Neill Roberts
- Template:Flagicon Jomo Sono
- Template:Flagicon Julius Sono
- Template:Flagicon Geoff Wegerle
- Template:Flagicon Tore Cervin
- Template:Flagicon Conny Karlsson
- Template:Flagicon Jan Moller
- Template:Flagicon Gungor Tekin
- Template:Flagicon Dan Counce
- Template:Flagicon Paul Hammond
- Template:Flagicon Jimmy McAlister
- Template:Flagicon Alan Merrick
- Template:Flagicon Derek Spalding
- Template:Flagicon Arno Steffenhagen
- Template:Flagicon Sead Sušić
- Template:Flagicon Blagoje Tamindžić
- Template:Flagicon Filip Blašković
- Template:Flagicon Drago Vabec
- Template:Flagicon Ivica Grnja
- Template:Flagicon Ivan Lukačević
- Template:Flagicon Damir Šutevski
- Template:Flagicon Vojin Lazarević
- Template:Flagicon Stjepan Loparić
After the NASL
On March 28, 1985, the NASL officially suspended operations for the 1985 season, when only Toronto and Minnesota Strikers were interested in playing.[19] In the meantime Blizzard owners York-Hanover purchased Dynamo Latino of the National Soccer League with the intention of renaming them the Toronto Blizzard. Though the Blizzard franchise had never actually folded, they had ceased operations for several months between these incarnations and NSL regulations did not permit a name change in the midst of the season. The following season (1986) Dynamo Latino began play as the Toronto Blizzard. A history of this team can be found at Toronto Blizzard (1986–93).
References
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Wangerin p.192
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Colin Franks NASL profile
- ↑ Dave Needham profile
- ↑ Alex Cropley profile
- ↑ Duncan Davidson profile
- ↑ "NASL suspends operations for 1985" page 1D Minneapolis Star and Tribune March 29, 1985
External links
Bibliography
- Wangerin, David. Soccer in a Football World: The Story of America's Forgotten Game. WSC Book (2006).
Template:Toronto Blizzard Template:North American Soccer League (1966–85) Template:Canada Soccer Hall of Fame
- Pages with script errors
- Association football clubs established in 1971
- Association football clubs disestablished in 1984
- Canadian indoor soccer teams
- Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984)
- Defunct soccer clubs in Canada
- North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams
- Soccer clubs in Toronto
- North American Soccer League (1968–1984) teams based in Canada
- 1971 establishments in Ontario
- 1984 disestablishments in Ontario
- Former Corus Entertainment subsidiaries